Indian Economics 100 : Dr. Aggarwal

Dr. Aggarwal is owner of a small business and he was conferred a Doctorate by me under the powers vested upon me as the Founder of Wordsmith University – http://www.wordsmithuniversity.com. I asked Dr. Aggarwal – My dear Sir, can you kindly explain as why Rupee is weakening so much against dollar ?

He not only understood the question but also the level of the student – without this trait, one becomes a joker instead of a professor. Here is what he said over a chalu-chai

1. Starting from the Finance Minister to the recent BPO employee, everybody thinks that Columbus discovered America to create dollars out of thin air and to be sent to India.

2. The above thinking is not bad – it is a hope and every one is entitled to hope. The problem appeared when dollar was considered an entitlement and was not restricted to the simple hope of it.

3. After some time, those who were closer to ‘dollar’ , thought by association that they are passable dollarians and their lifestyle reflected that. Their roti-kapra-mokan-bahan – the quad of Indian Dollarians’ existence demanded things which needed more dollars. These things included white goods, designer clothes, designer furnitures and so on.

4. Some top Indian Businessmen, especially from the bania class also started behaving like passable dollarians. They started making houses, getting to hobbies which were considered ‘firingi idiotics‘ by their previous generation – the patriarch who founded the business. The Dollarians became true lover – they not only tried to acquire their love, they became one with their love, except in colour of skin, accent, toilet and driving habit.

5. Earlier, business in India was considered a very serious affair and most spending were vetoed against. Dollarians considered business as a lifestyle statement, a glamour business and they glamorized cost. Now, India was never a glamorous place except a small strip of the overgrown fishing village called Mumbai and glamour needed more dollars.

6. The greatest way to pass the pass-ability test was to ratify it and dollar /pound based education was in high demand even though these came with heavy debt and that too in dollar. As more Dollarians became ratified, there were not enough jobs to re compensate them to service their debt + lifestyle and more dollars were needed.

7. Dollar earners – a considerable proportion of them being dollarians found competition from other passables of other places and competition stiffened. Most important – the central citadel of dollar creation went into trouble and every dollar coming out of the machine needed extra oil now. This oil is higher interest rate and the dollarians were asked to pay for it.

8. Dollarians got trapped into the lecture of global, global corporation etc and thought that they have earned their pass-ability. But business is after all a ruthless affair.

9. Government : Governing India is no easy thing. India is governed in last thousand years by Mughals, British and now natives. Considering global administrative capability, British is said to be have considerable experience and competence. However, Governing India is no easy thing. Democracy is making it operationally more difficult. This Government also went into oscillation. In 1960s – any Indian with slightest dollarian sentiment was called a CIA spy and by 1998, diaspora dollarians were feted as great achievers and noble benefactors. Nirad C Chaudhuri would have said like this : ‘ the cunning and shamelessness of the native government for easy money and the opportunism and greed-fuelled stupid hope of the dispora are so evenly matched’

10. The future is uncertain to say the least. However, if you have no debt, no pass ability test to pass, no lifestyle statement to make and accept to be a third world citizen with more time to eat and contemplate, you shall survive, thrive and minimize suffering.